Receiver Michael Crabtree is unable to catch a fourth down pass on the 49ers' final drive of Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday in New Orleans. The play was controversial because Crabtree appeared to be held by the Ravens on the play.

Taking a spin around the sports world wondering come the NFL Draft in April, will Leon Sandcastle be the best player available when the Packers make their first selection at No. 26?

News: Baltimore defeats San Francisco 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII: I.

Views: About that fourth-down incomplete pass where 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh nearly spontaneously combusted, looking for a holding call on his receiver Michael Crabtree: Would that have been called holding in the first quarter? Absolutely. Then you have to call it with less than two minutes to play. Period.

News: After a short discussion in which Brett Favre said all was cool between he and Aaron Rodgers on the NFL Network's Super Bowl pregame show, former Packers assistant coach Steve Mariucci put his arm around Favre and tried to ask him his thoughts about returning to Green Bay, before being drown out by the 24 other talking heads on the desk, led by Michael Irvin.

Views: Complaining about Irvin being too loud, too boisterous and too narcissistic is like complaining that a porcupine has quills. It's just the way it is. But shame on Mariucci and host Rich Eisen for not getting back to that question. His answer would have been of great interest to not only those in Wisconsin, but anyone who follows the NFL. And it would have been far more pertinent than most of the junk they asked him. Eisen, as host, is supposed to practice some journalism but he missed a great opportunity there.

News: Packers receiver Donald Driver announces his retirement and further endears himself to fans by giving away 1,000 free tickets to his ceremony: I.

Views: Good for Driver for taking himself out of the game, rather than having some general manager do it for him. Good for him for his loyalty to the Packers organization, for no doubt he will be richly rewarded (re: endorsements) in the future if he so chooses. Good for him for all the charity work he has done within the community and beyond. His retirement will be a love fest, and he has earned it.

News: Baltimore defeats San Francisco 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII: II.

Views: Let's be honest. The 34-minute power outage was the best thing that could have happened to this game. First, it gave millions across America their 140 characters of fame on Twitter, and many of the musings were hilariously funny. Second, for the millions of us without a real rooting interest other than a competitive game, it gave us just that. Otherwise, this would have been the Ravens in a rout and Beyonce would have been most everyone's Super Bowl MVP.

News: Signing day for college football is Wednesday.

Views: Yes, this is always a big deal because we understand recruiting is the lifeblood on which programs either thrive or take a dive. In a small sampling, Wisconsin, under first-year coach Gary Andersen, checks in at No. 48 (Rivals), No. 36 (247 Sports) and didn't make ESPN's Top 40.

Five-, four- and three-star recruits are important, but it's the intangibles that are more important. Can the coaching staff get the most out of that talent? Can the talent stand up to the pressure and scrutiny about to come? Is the talent willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the team, or not? In other words, how a coaching staff develops that talent is even more important than simply landing a player with talent.

But for Badgers fans who hope to one day bring home college football's biggest prize, this should be noted. In a recent study by Athlon Sports, eight of the past 10 teams with a No. 1-ranked recruiting class by Rivals played for the BCS Championship within three years, and seven won the title.

One other note from this study: Alabama earned the highest average ranking from Rivals from 2007 through 2011 and Nick Saban transformed that into two national titles and four straight 10-win seasons.

Going by that barometer, the Badgers are a long way from reaching the mountaintop.

News: Packers receiver Donald Driver announces his retirement and further endears himself to fans by giving away 1,000 free tickets to his ceremony: II.

Views: For some reason, there has been a lot of conjecture as to whether the Packers should retire Driver's jersey. Ah, no. Retired numbers are only for the greatest of the greats, especially for an organization steeped in history like the Packers. Look, the Packers have 21 former players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Of those, five have their jerseys retired - and someday it will be six when Favre joins the list. Driver is a sure-fire Packers hall of famer but he will never be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That's another level, one he did not reach. Besides, if the No. 80 would ever be retired, the honor would go to former Packer receiver James Lofton, who is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

News: Baltimore defeats San Francisco 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII: III.

Views: Dear NFL: If you're going to introduce the latest Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees before the game, please use your head in the future. I get the alphabetical order thing, but only to a point. Having former Packers linebacker Dave Robinson introduced after former Ravens offensive lineman Jonathan Ogden, before a stadium half full of Ravens supporters, was just stupid. It stole Robinson's moment to a large degree, and that was just not right. C'mon man.